Shenzhen Stock Connect launch likely in 2H: Christopher Cheung

Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, a lawmaker who represents Hong Kong’s financial services functional constituency, expects the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect program to be rolled out in the second half of this year.

The new trading link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen exchanges is likely to be launched in the second half as mainland authorities will wait for market conditions to stabilize, the Hong Kong Economic Journal quoted Cheung as saying.

Cheung, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks after Premier Li Keqiang mentioned the stock link in his latest government work report, the paper noted.

The Hong Kong lawmaker called on authorities to establish a proper mechanism for the stock link so that it will be able to weather shocks from any financial crisis.

It is not necessary to wait until the stock market returns to absolute normalcy, said Cheung, warning that a prolonged delay will only dent investor confidence.

The sooner the launch of the Shenzhen stock link, the better it will be able to work with the existing Shanghai link and help boost cross-border transactions, he said.

In other comments, Cheung called on Hong Kong to launch futures trading for CSI300 Index, saying that it will provide better representation than the A50 index futures currently trading in Singapore.

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